| British style Indian takeaways might be cheap to buy, | | | | handy for grinding spices, although you can use a |
| but a lot of them have lost their authenticity. A lot of | | | | coffee grinder. You will also need something to grate |
| these takeaway use ready made pastes for their | | | | ginger with. |
| food. That is why nothing can beat the home style | | | | Next comes the spices, the essential spices you |
| Indian dishes. A lot of people think Indian cooking is a | | | | should have in stock are chilli powder, turmeric powder, |
| mystery and challenging. But it is quite the opposite | | | | garam masala, small cardamom seeds, cumin seeds |
| once you have mastered a few basic techniques. A | | | | and cloves. Spices are very important in Indian cooking |
| lot of the ingredients used for Indian cooking can be | | | | they add warmth, heat and flavour to the dishes. As |
| brought fresh from the supermarkets. | | | | you become more experienced you can add and |
| Before you start, make sure you have the basic | | | | experiment with other spices as well. Buy spices |
| cooking utensils needed to prepare Indian dishes. A | | | | whole rather than powder and grind them when they |
| good quality and sturdy wok or a karahi is needed. By | | | | are needed. It is best and cheaper to buy whole spices |
| using a wok or a karahi you will use less oil as it is | | | | from an Indian specialist shop. Whole spices can be |
| narrow from the bottom and the oil sits in a small pool | | | | kept up to three months. Store them in an air tight |
| at the bottom. Also a mortar and pestle will come | | | | container to keep them fresh. |